Not to be overlooked, basketball practice can start this evening.
There will be no Midnight Madness — Pitt will hold a Media Day this afternoon before its first official practice Saturday. Instead, the illumination comes from a national spotlight.
Pitt is ranked as high as No. 3 in the preseason polls and is virtually certain of being a top-10 team in next month’s AP preseason poll for only the third time in the program’s history.
Seven-footer Aaron Gray, who pulled his name from the NBA draft to return for his senior year, is a consensus All-American and popular pick for Big East Player of the Year.
Sophomore Sam Young, an All-Big East Rookie selection last season, joins Gray and senior forward Levon Kendall to form one of the nation’s top frontcourts, according to Lindy’s and the Sporting News.
Kendall, one of eight returning players from last season’s 25-8 team, said no one’s complacent because of the October polls.
“I think the guys are taking it the right way,” Kendall said. “We realize we haven’t proven too much.”
To that end came the nightly summer pick-up games — and running and weightlifting and conditioning.
“It was a little different than in the previous years,” Kendall said. “We went after it earlier than normal, and it’s carried over through the summer. That hasn’t happened in the past. Guys are in better shape and ready to go.”
Instead of a Midnight Madness, which would have been awkward with the football game this evening, they will be doing another fan fest. It’s scheduled for Saturday, October 28 from 2:30 to 6 (the football team has a bye that weekend).
Sponsored by Pontiac and US Army, Fan Fest offers basketball fans their first glimpse of the 2006-07 Pitt men’s and women’s basketball teams. The event begins at 2:30 p.m. with an autograph session featuring head coaches Agnus Berenato and Jamie Dixon and the women’s and men’s basketball players in the Petersen Events Center lobby and concourse areas.
Following the combined autograph session, the Pitt women’s team will play an intrasquad scrimmage. The Panthers men’s team will then take the floor for a scrimmage.
Fan Fest will also feature performances by the Pitt Pep Band, Pitt Cheerleaders and Pitt Dance Team, along with various family oriented activities, including face painting and a Halloween costume parade.
There was a big piece on Dixon and everything he personally went through over the spring and summer.
Finally, Seth Davis at SI.com asks questions about 20 different teams. I have to admit the premise of his to Pitt has me confused.
Pittsburgh: Who will emerge as the committee of one?
The Panthers are entering the season with unprecedented expectations, thanks largely to their perimeter quintet of senior Antonio Graves, juniors Ronald Ramon and Keith Benjamin, sophomore Levance Fields and junior transfer Mike Cook. The problem is, none of those is a proven crunch-time player like departed point guard Carl Krauser. Krauser took some boneheaded risks, but at least everyone knew where to go when the game was on the line. The point guard position is too important to be manned by a committee of five. Someone here needs to step up and fill the leadership void created by Krauser’s graduation.
Beg pardon? I thought the expectations are a result of Aaron Gray coming back, and a strong frontcourt with Gray, Kendall and Young? His question about the PG is somewhat legit, though, everyone already knows/expects to see Fields running the show most of the time.
If I was feeling snarky and defensive I’d just assume Davis is looking for something to rip Pitt for now that his annual, stock complaints about the non-con is not applaicable any longer. Thankfully, I’m not feeling that way.
